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How I emerged from the world of left and right

@NickMargerrison For most, Leftism is a state of mind & a policy package. You're required to subscribe to all standard Leftist shibboleths
— A Libertarian Rebel (@A_Liberty_Rebel) February 17, 2014

My old paradigm or, way of thinking, was the standard "lefty" one. I used read The Guardian, despise The Daily Mail and occasionally go on peace marches. Partly this is because I'm from a working class family and when I was introduced to the concept of "left wing" and "right wing" politics it was described in childish, simplistic terms. The "right wing" represented the upper class, who were greedy and wanted everything for themselves and by contrast "the left" were "goodies" who wanted to share everything out equally. The grand narrative to all this was essentially that greed had rotted the hearts of the upper classes and their representatives "The Evil Tories". Throughout the 80's Thatcher's posh voice and Iron Lady image seemed to confirm this world view.

Thatcher's funeral

So, with the endorsement of my favourite pop group Oasis ringing in my ears, I once voted. In 1997, after years of living under "The Evil Tories", I opted for "New Labour". Fortunately for my intellectual development, alongside the above dynamic, I also understood two other core concepts: democracy and free speech. This post describes how those ideas cracked my "Left vs Right Paradigm".

Firstly, thanks to my belief in democracy, I experienced confusion when the "goodies" of my youthful perspective were replaced by Bloodthirsty Blair and Brown. When advocating Her Majesty's military tear Iraq to bits they had no clear connection between terrorism in the West and the regime in Iraq. Unlike the previous war in Afganistan, which I'd supported, this one did not seem justified. Reportedly around a million people marched against their warmongering and were reduced to begging on the streets of London for a chance to have their say, none of us were listened to. I recall from conversations at the time that I wasn't the only one who couldn't understand how "the goodies" could behave in such a fashion, towards the very people who'd voted for them. Nor was I the only one who felt betrayed by the fact my vote and its power was now going to be used to kill people with against my will.

Over the last decade or so there was a notable rise in "conspiracy theory". Partly this is down to the internet and the free movement of information but also it seemed to walk hand in hand with The New Labour's order and their wars of terror. I strongly suspect I am not alone in my experience of politics in the UK, I'm almost certain there's a generation who feels we are constantly misled by these people. If I'm right about this Her Majesty's Government will soon find themselves surrounded on-line by articulate dissenting voices, thanks to free speech. Ultimately they will find themselves dispatched from power, thanks to democracy.

However what I hope will exist in their place is a populace who are not fooled by binary thought patterns and the aforementioned "Left / Right" way of thinking. The first thing most people notice when left wing and right wing ideas are explained to them is that few of us are one or the other. Bit left wing on some things, bit right wing on others, is the usual response. Intelligent humans tend to deal with issues on a case by case basis. I doubt very much that there are many, even among those who still use this belief system, who can honestly say they are are 100% either left wing or right wing.

The left vs right idea emerged during the French Revolution. Back then it related to a single issue, the left thought The Monarchy had too much power and the right disagreed. This is why the "left wing" had to sit to the side of the King Of France which could most easily feel his blade were an argument to kick off. They challenged the concentration of power in the hands of the establishment, I like the sound of them.

To cut a long story short that debate has changed over time. The first big change seems to have come when it was agreed that the left were not about usurping the establishment's power but instead there to beg for their money. Like all effective distractions this one is very subtle, money is a metaphor for power, it's not power itself. Even today there are many who do not understand this. So, in a classic example of what the occultist Peter J Carroll calls "slight of mind", the focus of people's attention was successfully moved away from the necks of the ruling elite and instead toward "the movements of small green pieces of paper"[1]. I imagine everyone in power breathed a sigh of relief at that one.

Some argue this switch, from concern about excessive power to begging for money and handouts, is the moment the left changed forever and lost their way. The theory goes that the moment they came to rely on 'bribes' from those whom they opposed, they soon found it difficult to bite the hand which fed. Instead the money they received from the establishment was used to further "the cause". This, in real terms, meant a lot of "left wing" politicians, and the pet projects they patronised, became rich. However, the chess game was not over, the left had not yet been tamed. For a while they were an occasional thorn in its side with demands for worker's rights and so forth.

By the time this story reaches Blair and his mates their role was not to challenge the power of Her Majesty's Government but instead to increase it. By the modern era the left appear to have learned to do the job of a farmer's dog and they seem to think it their role to help herd us, the sheep. This is where we see the current alliance between the state and "the modern left", now so far removed from their original anti-Monarchy rhetoric they're almost unrecognisable. Note how far "modern left wing thinking" has allowed itself to move with the following unfocused collection of ideas: global warming, immigration, The EU, killing people in Syria, censoring the internet, anti-racism. Non of these have anything to do with the initial issue of excessive power in the hands of a Monarch. Finally, it's worth considering the fact you do not find many "left wing" people these days who think our Queen shouldn't be our Head Of State[2].

The "left vs right" way of thinking is a metaphor for something called binary thought: "0 vs 1". Humans can think like that if they choose, and when they do they live life in reaction to the outside world. Binary thought is good for things like driving or, I'm told, boxing. Reactions are the key in those contexts. In deeper more complex thought though you are often best served by using what Pope Bob termed "maybe logic". Here you refuse to be forced to answer yes or no to any question. Instead you use the word "maybe" and carry on your calculations from there. In the new world I can see emerging all around us it is binary thinkers who will find themselves enslaved by technology and "maybe logic" which will always prove more effective.

[1] Douglas Adams reference. Can't go wrong with one of those can you?

[2] Lemme guess, you reacted to this with the following: "who do you want to do it then, ho ho, the likes of Tony Blair?". My response, "yes". Why? Because we could vote him out once we realised we'd been misled. Not so for our current Royal Family.

In short he's a TV presenter and an award winning radio presenter.
In long, he's worked on LBC, Kerrang Radio, Hallam FM and The Bay. And other places, for a bit.
The TV show he presented was called "Esoteria" and ran for two series on Controversial TV (Sky channel 200).
Currently he is, as they say in radio, between jobs.